Vitamin D Deficiency and Its Association with Hypertension and Metabolic Disorder
1Dr. Umair Arif, 2Dr. Zafar Iqbal, 3Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Maaz, 4Dr. Sibgha Bashir, 5Dr. Muhammad Ameer Hamza, 6Dr. Naveed Nayyer
1Associate Professor Medicine, Quaid-e-Azam Medical College Bahawalpur
2Assistant Professor Cardiology, Shahida Islam Medical College Lodhran
3Assistant Professor Cardiology, CPEIC Multan
4Associate Professor Pathology, Shahida Islam Medical College Lodhran
5Demonstrator, Shahida Islam Medical College Lodhran
6Associate Professor Medicine, Shahida Islam Medical College Lodhran
ABSTRACT:
Background: These days a lot of people don’t get enough vitamin D and it looks like a major health problem around the world. Some recent studies have hinted that low blood vitamin D might be tied to problems with sugar control, blood‑pressure, and body weight. In plain words, not having enough vitamin D could mess up how insulin works, make blood vessels tighter, and raise bad cholesterol – all things that push hypertension and metabolic syndrome forward. Still, we don’t really know how strong this link is for South‑Asian groups, where diet, culture and sunshine are all a bit different. Figuring this out could help shape local preventive steps and treatment plans.
Aim: The project had two goals: first, to see how common vitamin D deficiency is among patients at a big hospital in Pakistan; second, to check how strongly this deficiency is related to high blood pressure and a bundle of metabolic issues – bad lipids, insulin resistance and obesity – in the same group. Methods: We did a cross‑sectional research at Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for a year (June 2024‑May 2025). 94 adults who had full clinical records were picked on purpose. Blood vitamin D was measured with a standard lab test; under 20 ng/mL counted as deficient. Hypertension was marked if the medical file noted at least two readings above 140/90 mm Hg. Metabolic problems were checked with fasting lipids, a simple insulin‑resistance index (HOMA‑IR) and BMI ≥ 30 kg/m² for obesity. Data were run in SPSS; chi‑square looked at simple links, while multivariate logistic regression gave adjusted odds ratios for hypertension and metabolic disorders versus vitamin D status.
Results: Vitamin D deficiency showed up in 67 % of the people (63 out of 94). Hypertension was present in 38 % (36 people) and metabolic disorders in 42 % (39 people). The chi‑square test gave a significant connection between deficiency and hypertension (p = 0.032) and also between deficiency and metabolic disturbances (p = 0.021). In the regression model, those with low vitamin D had about 2.3 times higher odds of Hypertension (OR ≈ 2.3, 95 % CI ≈ 1.1‑4.8) and roughly 2.7 times higher odds of having metabolic issues (OR ≈ 2.7, 95 % CI ≈ 1.3‑5.5) after we adjusted for age, sex and BMI.
Conclusion: Our findings point to a high rate of vitamin D deficiency in this South‑Asian hospital setting and a clear link to both high blood pressure and a set of metabolic problems. This seems to suggest doctors should think about checking vitamin D levels in patients at risk for heart‑and‑metabolic disease. Adding simple steps – like vitamin D supplements, safe sun exposure and lifestyle tweaks – could help lower the growing burden of hypertension and metabolic syndrome that may be driven by low vitamin D. Keywords: Vitamin D deficiency, Hypertension, Metabolic disorders, Cardiovascular risk, Insulin resistance.